United States: Twitter’s new owner, Mr. Elon Musk has alleged that Apple threatened Twitter with removing the app from the App Store without specifying the reason.
According to Mr. Musk, Apple put pressure on Twitter to comply with its demands for content regulation. The CEO of Twitter also revealed the potential App Store ban in a series of tweets on 28th November.
Apple has also threatened to withhold Twitter from its App Store, but won’t tell us why.
Mr. Elon Musk tweeted.
Tweets and Mr. Musk’s statements suggest that the reason Apple is allegedly threatening to “withhold” Twitter from the App Store may be related to the social media platform’s new moderation policy to protect “free speech.”
One hour before revealing the threat to the App Store , the Tesla Owner also claimed that Apple had mostly discontinued advertising on Twitter. Mr. Musk tweeted that, “Apple has mostly stopped advertising on Twitter. Do they hate free speech in America?” The Twitter owner also tagged Apple’s CEO, Mr. Tim Cook, asking, “what’s going on here”.
A meme that Mr. Musk posted on 24th November suggested he was ready to “go to war” with Apple rather than pay the commission, mocking the up to 30 percent fee Apple charges software developers for in-app purchases.
Mr. Phil Schiller, the head of Apple’s App Store, cancelled his Twitter account earlier this month, sparking speculations that Mr. Musk’s business dealings with a key Twitter app distributor were worsening.
According to Advertising Measurement Company Pathmatics, Apple spent an estimated $131,600 between 10th November and 16th November, down from the $220,800 spent between 16th October and 22nd October, the week before Musk signed the Twitter deal.